Retail Stores Downsized or Out of Business in 2012

Since the U.S. retail industry comprises more than 60% of the U.S. GDP overall, closing or liquidating retail stores are generally viewed to be key indicators of U.S. economic health. But because of the radical shift in consumer behaviors, recent history has not necessarily proven that brick-and-mortar store closings have a negative economic impact and vice versa.

For instance, 2011 was a year of expansion for the U.S. retail industry, even though it was a year of instability for the U.S. economy. Measured by store openings and closings, it was hoped that the retail industry expansion would continue in 2012. But when major U.S. retail chains like Sears, Blockbuster, The Gap, and Abercrombie & Fitch announced triple-digit store closing plans for 2012, it seemed to indicate trouble for retail sales and a backward step for the U.S. economy. In fact, this was not the case, and the U.S. GDP grew by 2.2% despite a massive number of Going Out of Business sales that year.

With the benefit of hindsight, it is apparent that the large number of 2012 retail store closings in the Sears, Blockbuster, The Gap, and Abercrombie & Fitch retail chains had less to do with the shifting of consumer fortunes and more to do with the shifts in consuming preferences and the mammoth retail companies that couldn't keep pace. When it refused to adopt discount pricing strategies during the Great Recession, Abercrombie & Fitch alienated a significant portion of its customer base. Sears and The Gap both struggled with merchandise mix and pricing for years before 2012 and had also lost their strong customer bases in the process.

Blockbuster's closings were an inevitable result of the shifting preferences toward online and digital viewing of movies, TV shows, and recorded video content. Netflix and Redbox have also stolen Blockbuster customers with convenience and extremely low prices.

While the total number of store closings that happened in the 2012 calendar year seems relatively insignificant when compared to previous economic recession and recovery years, they continued throughout the year, and they were not insignificant.

The shift to Internet and mobile shopping was trending even before 2012, causing the demand for brick and mortar store shopping to trend lower even in the years before 2012. The largest U.S. retail chains had little choice besides downsizing to match consumer preferences, and they continue to downsize in 2016 as leases expire and less profitable locations are identified and closed down.

What follows is a complete roundup list of retail chains that closed stores, downsized, or went out of business completely in the 2012 calendar year, for research and historical purposes.

For the current 2016 Complete Store Closings Roundup List, click here >>ARCHIVED FROM 2012 - The number in the left column is the total number of stores that were closed as part of downsizing, liquidation, or going out of business efforts in the U.S. retail industry in 2012. Information for this 2012 Store Closing List was obtained from reports made available to the general public through news reports, corporate documents, and company press releases.

This Store Closings list is arranged numerically according to the number of store closings.

The most recent additions are indicated in bold lettering. This list was last updated on 9-18-12.